Vijayawada: New Year revelry claimed five lives in Andhra Pradesh as a car driven rashly by a youngster under the influence of alcohol crushed a group, including three minors, sitting around a campfire.

The incident occurred early on Monday near Indiranagar in Pendlimarri block in Kadapa district, police said.

The overspeeding car on Kadapa-Pulivendula highway hit the group that had lit a campfire on the roadside to ward off the biting cold.

Four of them were killed while two others were injured. The deceased have been identified as Bhaskar (26), Giri (16), Karthik (12) and Lakshmi Narasimha (10).

Brahamanand Reddy (24), who was driving the car, was also killed.

According to police, there were four people, including the driver, in the car. One escaped immediately after the crash while two others were arrested. All the occupants in the car were drunk.

The injured were admitted to Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Kadapa.